Mobile Phones Best Buys Guide

Mobile Phones Buyers Guide

• Best Touch Screen Phone

  Until recently there was only one phone out there that successfully managed to pull off being a touch screen phone and that was the Apple iPhone. When it was released, there were queues lining up around the corners of Apple Stores around the world so that people could get their hands on this beautiful smart phone and it is easy to see why. Not being content with being the first real integration between phone and mp3 player, in this case the iPod, it also served as a mobile internet device so that you could easily browse the internet on the go. Early models were limited to EDGE or Wi-Fi for internet browsing but when the iPhone 3G was released it was fully able to browse the internet at broadband speeds. Since 2008 though, the competition has really stepped up and the majority of mobile phones that are released now have some form of touch functionality. The Samsung Tocco has really got Review Centre users talking with well over 100 reviews but only average scores, while the LG Viewty is also commanding a high review count and getting a very respectable score. Other top scorers are the HTC Touch HD and the Samsung i8510 INNOV8 and ones we also expect to get good results are the HTC Magic, Sony Ericsson C903 Cyber-Shot and the new flagshihone from Finland, the Nokia N97. But it is our users that have spoken and they say that the phone they want to get their sticky fingers all over is the Apple iPhone 3G.

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• Best Camera Phone

  The Holy Grail of combining a mobile phone with a fully functioning digital camera has nearly been found and the current crop of phones are proving to be remarkably admirable snappers. We've moved on from the days when we had grainy pictures from an add on attachment like on our Sony Ericsson T68i, and now have camera phones that have 8, 10 and even 12 Megapixel cameras. It's not just the mega pixels that are a major draw though, many of them, such as the Samsung Tocco Ultra or Nokia n85 have full photo editing suites in them while others like the Sony Ericsson C905 have got GPS so that you can geotag your pictures and then upload them directly to Facebook or Flickr. The Sony Ericsson K800i is one of the truly great camera phones and set the bar for the rest but the competition, and it is still popular with Review Centre users despite being 3 years old, but there are plenty more out there to get you snapping pics. Korean mobile phone manufacture LG seem to be doing a very effective job with cameras, producing the LG Renoir KC910 and the LG KU990 Viewty, which have both proved very successful with our readers, but the absolute winner has to be from their Korean counterparts, Samsung, with the Samsung i8510 INNOV8 with a whopping 9.7/10 at time of writing. Its big draws according to our users are its 8MP camera, huge 8GB capacity and long lasting battery life, but if you can think of anything else then let us know, good or bad and we'll see if it remains the user's favourite.

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• Best Business Phone

  Staying ahead in business often means staying on the top of your contacts, and that can only be done if you are in full communication all the time. That's why the best business phones have got full PUSH Email functionality so that you can get your work emails no matter where you are, as well as high quality sound and impeccable reception. They also need to have a fast internet connection so many will come with Wi-Fi for when you are in the office and 3G when you are out of it. You'll also want good battery life, the ability to open all of your Word and Excel documents and perhaps something to keep you occupied during your commute, such as an mp3 or video player. The big player for a long time in the business mobile world is BlackBerry and they were amongst the first to make receiving emails on the go a breeze. They were the dominant market players with businesses because they had PUSH emails, which made them more popular than traditional smart phones or PDAs that could run programs but were no more connected than standard mobiles. The BlackBerry 8700 was a hot seller but the BlackBerry 8800 was the first to get our readers excited with a score of 8.7, but is looking a bit dated now, especially as many new touch phones are breaking into the business mobile market such as the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm. The top business mobiles for Review Centre readers are a choice between either the BlackBerry Bold 9000, Nokia e71 or the HTC Touch HD. All of them provide unparalleled business functionality and get great high scores from our readers.

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• Best of the Rest

  There are so many other things that you can do with a good mobile phone. The Nokia 5800 (as seen used by James bond in 'The Quantum of Solace') is not only a nifty touchscreen phone but also a brilliant music player that offers unlimited free downloads from the Nokia Music Store, and the Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman phone keeps the Walkman brand alive and kicking. If you are looking to use your phone on the go and use the internet a lot then you can do no better than the Nokia N95 8GB or the LG Arena, which both provide super fast 3G internet access as well as a host of other features such as mobile games, GPS, Google maps and video cameras. Mobile phones don't also have to cost an arm or a leg either, because the LG Cookie is available for well under £100 and features a touch screen, 3.2MP Camera and handwriting recognition.